Oscar Mollohuanca

Oscar Mollohuanca was the mayor of the Espinar Province of Peru. On 30 May 2012, he was arrested by the national government and accused of inciting protests against an expansion of a copper mine owned by Xstrata. He was conditionally released on 13 July. On March 7, 2022, he was found dead near his house, the circumstances of his death lead to the assumption that he was murdered.

Role in Tintaya strike

On 21 May 2012, agricultural leadership in Espinar Province announced a strike against the planned expansion of Tintaya mine, a copper mine owned by the Swiss corporation Xstrata (now merged with Glencore). The leaders' demands included higher environmental standards, more money for area development, and independent oversight of the mine.

Strikers occupied the roads to the mine over the following week, blocking all access. In response, President Ollanta Humala declared a state of emergency in the province, suspending constitutional rights,

Authorities accused Mollohuanca of using public funds to support the protests as well as inciting violence, and a judge ordered him to serve five months of "preventative" detention while the accusations against him were investigated. Mollohuanca described his detention as "surely handed down because of pressure from above, because what we have here at play are big interests from, for example, mining companies". Addressing the media after being freed, Mollohuanca protested his "arbitrary" arrest and called for "dialogue to tackle the area's environmental and social problems".

Political views Mollohuanca belonged to the Tierra y Libertad party.